Richard Disney

I think so many Americans have become dependent on government largess that they forget the meaning of Independence Day.

The 4th of July is celebrated because after the American Colonies had petitioned the King of England for redress without favorable consideration for many years, the Colonial leaders made the decision that unjust rule was sufficient reason for a People to rule themselves.

Everyone should read the Declaration of Independence at least once a year and this is a great day to do it!

Don’t just read the resounding opening lines– read the whole thing.

Read the damning point-by-point indictment of King George’s gross misrule and petty tyrannies.

“In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”

(Realize that those were fighting words that could have put the signers of the Declaration to death.)

So definitely enjoy the blessings of liberty! Enjoy the cook-outs, the fireworks, the beer, and the guns too. Remember to shoot the guns before drinking the beer!

Raise a glass or two to the health of our Armed Forces, to the glory of the United States, and damnation to our enemies.

Tags: independenceday, 4th of july, liberty, armed forces, declaration of independence, king george, tyrannies, cook-outs, fireworks, beer, guns, shoot

Pho Vietnamese soup

Tags: pho, vietnamese, reno, nevada, the best, lunch, food

Audio Link

I appeared on the KUNR Nevada Newsline radio show on June 27th, 2008. At times the debate gets somewhat contentious between myself and former Nevada Assemblywoman Vivian Freeman. Contentious means that it is interesting.

Not only do we discuss the Special Session of the Nevada Legislature but by listening to this broadcast you can hear a distinct comparison between an individualist philosophy of self-reliance and a philosophy of reliance on government.

From the KUNR website:

RENO, NV (2008-06-27) On this edition of Nevada Newsline, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons has called a special legislative session to address a 250 million dollar shortfall in the state budget.

Just ahead, host Brian Bahouth takes your calls for a discussion about the special session that is just getting underway in Carson City. Our guests are former Nevada lawmaker, Democrat Vivian Freeman and one-time Assembly Candidate, local businessman and political blogger, Republican Richard Disney.

Also this hour, some Nevada Republicans will be holding another state convention in Reno this weekend, they say, to conclude unfinished business from the first state convention that ended in mayhem back in April. The state Republican party does not sanction this weekend’s gathering, but organizers say delegates chosen this weekend will be going to the national convention in September. We’ll be taking your calls for a conversation with long time Republican leader Mike Weber. Enjoy the show.

kunr NewsRoom

Tags: kunr, richard disney, vivian freeman, nevada legislature, special session, brian bahouth, republican, democrat, nevada republicans, convention,

This is a horrible indication of how many Americans are willing to vote away all of our freedoms. Talk about the Wussification of America!

If the federal government starts regulating the Internet “the same way it does radio and television”, say goodbye to free speech in the form of blogging written audio or video content. Say hello to licensing and regulation that will limit Internet content production only to those who can afford the massive fees, compliance and lobbying necessary to have a sanctioned site.

As Ronald Reagan said, “Government is not the solution to our problems…Government IS the problem.”

Article follows:

From Rasmussen Reports

Nearly half of Americans (49%) believe that the federal government should regulate the Internet the same way it does radio and television, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national survey.

Thirty-five percent (35%) disagree, and 16% are undecided.

Americans also believe overwhelmingly — 73% yes to 13% no — that it should be a crime to harass someone on the Internet.

The findings come as a Missouri woman faces an unprecedented federal prosecution for allegedly setting up an account for a fictitious 16-year-old on an online social networking site to harass the 13-year-old daughter of a neighbor.

Click here to read entire article Rasmussen Reports™: The most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a presidential election.

Tags: internet, free speech, government regulation, blogging, federal regulation of the internet, rasmussen, poll, 49%, americans want regulation, wussification of america

This is a concerning post as the enforcement of tolerance is trumping the protection of freedom of speech worldwide. The spirit and fact of speech as a right is to have the right to say or write things that offend others, including governments. When governments arrest or intimidate people who say or write what they think, it has a chilling effect on the entire society which weakens the people and strengthens government.

Post from Publius Forum follows:

-By Warner Todd Huston

Bloggers are being arrested more and more as the importance of the Internet is realized by governments across the world, at least so warns the BBC.

It seems an alarming report where community activists and democracy advocates are finding themselves being oppressed by government, arrested, and maybe even tortured because of their blogging.

But, one little fact of the story is never really focussed on in this alarming BBC report on the release of the WIA report from the University of Washington.

The fact that bloggers aren’t threatened much in democratic nations has been glossed over by this report.

Unfortunately, a cursory reading of this piece would leave the reader with the vague feeling that people all over the world are being arrested merely because they are blogging, but that isn’t quite the case.

The way this report is written serves as a perfect example of a PCism more concerned with upsetting the tender sensibilities of tyrannical, undemocratic governments, than in reporting the oppression of its citizens. It’s a PCism gone so far that it makes the report uninformative at least to the most important aspect of the reason these bloggers are being arrested.

Here is how the BEEB starts their almost whitewashed report:

“More bloggers than ever face arrest for exposing human rights abuses or criticising governments, says a report.

Since 2003, 64 people have been arrested for publishing their views on a blog, says the University of Washington annual report.”

The BBC also gravely informs us that, “Citizens have faced arrest and jail for blogging about many different topics,” and that “Arrested bloggers exposed corruption in government, abuse of human rights or suppression of protests. They criticized public policies and took political figures to task.”The report goes on to explain why this new threat to bloggers has arisen. The report said the rising number of arrests was testament to the “growing” political importance of blogging.

Click here to read entire post Jailed for Blogging « Publius’ Forum

Tags: PCism, bbc, bloggers arrested, blogging, political importance, warner todd huston, publius’ forum

The fact that it is news whena man gets his printer to work with Windows Vista (after quite a struggle) made me chuckle.

Story follows:

Charles Walling prints from his Windows Vista PC.

Regular readers may recall the story of Charles Walling, the retired Seattle warehouseman whose struggle to get his printer to work with Windows Vista was documented in our story marking the Microsoft operating system’s first year on the market.

Well, it’s working now — but not without some help from a Windows test manager.

The underlying problem reflects the huge changes Microsoft made from Windows XP to Windows Vista, and the need for hardware makers to adjust. At the same time, the experience may provide a good reminder for PC users making an upgrade.

Here’s the back story: After the article ran, I received e-mails from a couple of people inside Microsoft who were curious about the cause of the problem. With Mr. Walling’s permission, I directed them to him. Tom White, test manager for documents and printing in Microsoft’s Windows Experience group, visited the Walling household on multiple occasions, figured out what was wrong, and ultimately got the printer to work.

Click here to read entire post Man gets Windows Vista to work with printer

Tags: windowsvista, printer, compatibility, todd bishop, microsoft blog, technology, vista problems

I am glad to hear that there are potential benefits to drinking coffee since I drink so much of it!

Story follows:

Posted June 16, 2008
By Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay Reporter

Coffee Drinkers Might Live Longer.

For women, especially, the brew could boost heart health, study finds.

MONDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) - Good news for coffee lovers: Drinking up to six cups a day of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee daily won’t shorten your life span, a new study shows.

In fact, coffee might even help the heart, especially for women, the researchers found.

“Our results suggest that long-term, regular coffee consumption does not increase the risk of death and probably has several beneficial effects on health,” said lead researcher Dr. Esther Lopez-Garcia, assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Autonoma University in Madrid, Spain.

Her team published its findings in the June 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Click here to read entire article:Coffee Drinkers Might Live Longer - US News and World Report

Tags: health, coffee, benefits, heart health, longer life, women’s health, coffee consumption

Hat Tip: Bob Beers

June 12th, 2008

Image via WikipediaLake
Powell - a huge Colorado River reservoir upstream from Las Vegas - has
risen 30 feet over the past three months. It’s now almost 60% capacity
and rising, with the reservoirs above it now at 80% capacity.

Here’s a website with more Colorado River water data than even I am comfortable crunching.

Tags: bobbeers, water, nevada, good water year

From: Politico

Now that BlackBerry mobile devices have been issued to senators and congress members, even those who shunned using computers until now are now being plunged into the digital age. This also changes the dynamics of access to senators and representatives. Campaign contributors can get access to a politician’s “secret” phone number and text opinions directly to a politician’s hip.

Click here to read more…

Source: Web MD

In another indication that things are not as bad as the Main Stream Media projects, Web MD reported that lifespans in the U.S. set another record. Another record is that lifespans increased by 4 months in only the span of one year.

“What’s more, the death rate for 11 of the top 15 causes of death — including heart disease, cancer, and stroke — slowed in 2006.

That’s what the CDC’s preliminary data show, based on some 2.4 million deaths in 2006. Here are the highlights from the CDC’s report.
Life Expectancy

Life expectancy in 2006 is about four months longer than it was in 2005, according to the CDC.”

I understand that bad news sells but in an effort to show its not as bad as people think, we need to balance the bad news with the huge amount of good news out there.